


Intimate Network

by Florchis



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Female Friendship, FitzSkimmons - Freeform, LLF Comment Project, Multi, Open Relationships, Pipsy, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-30 14:27:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12655347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Florchis/pseuds/Florchis
Summary: Piper wants to ask Daisy out, but first she needs to find out if the terms of Daisy's other relationships allow for it. Jemma assures her that they do, and they both talk Daisy and polyamory.





	Intimate Network

**Author's Note:**

  * For [stjarna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stjarna/gifts).



“Agent Simmons, can I ask you a question?”

Jemma raises her head from her mug of tea at the question, and looks over Agent Piper, standing straight as she can be under the kitchen’s door frame.  

“Yes, of course.”

She accompanies her reply with an inviting gesture, and Piper gets closer but doesn’t sit down.

“It’s well, um, it’s kinda personal. _Very_ personal, actually.”

Simmons considers her then, wringing her hands in anxiety. Piper has always been nice to her, but distant enough, and seeing her like this, shy and vulnerable and blushing, is an oddity in and of itself.

“Shoot away, Piper.”

Once her S.H.I.E.L.D. badge have read “Agent Piper”, Jemma has checked; but no one is really sure if Piper is her first name, her last name, neither or both. There is actually a pretty impressive betting pool on the matter. Jemma is almost sure that May knows the truth, not that she would ever tell anyone.

“Are you, I mean, you can choose not to answer if it makes you uncomfortable, of course, but I would appreciate if-”

She stumbles over the prefaces, and Jemma notices that is not only because of her nerves: she is a woman of action, and formalities don’t bode well with her, so Jemma decides to take her out of her misery.

“Piper, I make autopsies for a living. I might be English, but almost nothing makes me uncomfortable. That is Fitz’s thing. If I said you could ask, you can ask.”

Piper nods once, curt,  exhales and finally lets her question out in one breath.

“Is your and Fitz’s relationship with Agent Johnson… _exclusive_ in nature?”

That is… not at all what Jemma was expecting her to ask. But it’s not difficult to get all the pieces to click on the right places: Piper's strange nerves, the look of awe Jemma has caught more than once on her face while looking at Daisy, Daisy's own way of talking about Piper with newfound fondness.

(She has dismissed the last two as circunstancial, while Fitz was seemingly right at his interpretation of those clues. _The bastard._ )

She blinks twice, but Piper is still waiting anxiously for her answer, so Jemma reorders her thoughts before replying.

“To honor the truth, I have to say no.” She can't see the relief on the other woman's features, and she waits till Piper has relaxed a little to continue. “But why don't I fix you a cup of tea and we chat about it a little bit?”

Piper lets her face deflate for just an instant, but as the good spy she is, she composes herself quickly into a neutral expression, and she sits down. All her features are screaming _if this is the price I have to pay, I will pay it_ and Jemma smiles while thinking _bloody right it is._

She gets up to fill another mug with the still warm water, and it’s not until she is sitting again that she resumes the conversation.

“It is safe to assume that you are asking because you are interested in Daisy in some romantic and/or sexual capacity?”

Piper can’t contain a grimace at her words, and _oh, well,_ both Fitz and Daisy always tell her that her colloquial chit-chat needs work, that she is too stilted and too unnecessary blunt, but Jemma stands true to her belief that it helps her be honest and righteous.

“Look, I have not talked this over with her yet, okay? So I rather this topic isn’t in everybody’s mouth by the end of the afternoon, you get me?”

There is a dissonance almost painful between Piper’s current brusqueness and the courtesy she was using before due to the topic or Jemma’s higher rank, but Jemma is glad that Piper is feeling comfortable enough to do the shift; talking this as equals will make things easier for both of them.    

“If you are worried, I promise that I will keep mum. You can actually leave right now if you want. But you also chose to come talk to me instead of asking Daisy upfront, so forgive me for being curious.”

Even though Jemma tried to frame the comment as a casual observation and not as an accusation, Piper looks startled by it, and promptly shoved into her original distance.

“Right.” Jemma sighs, but she doesn't have enough time to carefully pick her words to rekindle the conversation when Piper speaks again. “It’s just that… I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. I’m almost sure that she likes me, but I don’t know if it’s in the same way that I like her, you know? And also there was this possible roadblock, of her relationship with you guys, and I wanted to clear it before moving forward. I’d rather get punched by her partners for being inappropriate than putting her in the awkward position of having to be the one to reject me because I wasn't sensitive enough.”

Jemma covers her mouth with her hand.

“Oh, god, Piper, even if we were exclusive, we wouldn't have punched you, we are not _animals!”_

Piper shrugs.

“Either way, I could have taken that; I couldn’t risk hurting her. She has a too good empathetic heart for me to be inconsiderate with it.”

Jemma fights a smile that is fighting to burst from between her lips. She is _this_ close to give Piper her blessing already, but there are no doubts that it should be Daisy’s choice first and foremost, and only then Fitz and her can enter the discussion. She goes then for a positive but aloof response.   

“That’s sweet.” Piper nods, her eyes down, looking ashamed, and Jemma wonders if maybe she is not used to being so open and emotional; if that is the case, Daisy would be _so good_ for her. “It’s only fair that I warn you, though, that getting into a relationship with someone who already is in one is different than monogamous dating. I wouldn’t say harder, necessarily, but different. In the case that you and Daisy decide to take that step, me and Fitz, we won’t mingle in the boundaries of your relationship. But you need to be aware that we have our own, too, and that they necessarily will come into play when taking decisions that otherwise would have been only yours. We aren’t in a DADT* relationship, and we would never be.”

Piper raises her head then, and there is a glint on her eyes that makes Jemma’s cheeks tingle. She might be getting a little- a lot- ahead of the situation, but _ah,_ aren’t they all going to have fun with this interesting woman in the mix.

“I’m not saying all relationships work the same way, and that’s why I asked about yours before making a move, but, um. I have some experience in that field, actually.”

Jemma places both her hands on top of the table so abruptly that she spills a little of tea from both of their mugs. Neither of them pays the mess much attention.

“Really? How so?”

Piper blushes while averting her gaze, and how fascinating human beings can be; this woman that marches into a battle field with a confident step and a steady finger on the trigger, gets shaky hands while talking about her love life.

“I dated ah, um, a couple. For a little while. Just right before being recruited by SHIELD. It didn't work out, though. And not only because I got sucked into spy-world.”

Jemma makes an involuntary snort, and Piper smiles a little, which gives Jemma confidence enough to keep digging.

“Can I ask why?”

Piper looks her straight in the eyes while answering, like she is making a point of being upfront with it. There is pride on her eyes, and Jemma can respect pride.

“It was my best friend and, um, his girlfriend. And it turned out I was too much of a lesbian for it to work out. I still am.”

“Ah.” Jemma struggles to find an appropriate answer that can put into words at the same time the gratitude she feels for the trust Piper is paying her, while not making a big deal out of it, because it _shouldn’t_ be a big deal.  “Can't say I relate, though.”

It’s Piper’s turn now to laugh, and Jemma is just glad that she hasn’t made this nascent thing between them awkward.

“I can live with that.”

A companionable silence follows, and Piper knocks out the rest of her tea in just one movement.

“So you are asking Daisy out, then.”

“That I am.”

“I don’t have a say on it, not at this stage, but I think it’s safe to tell that I’m vouching for you, Agent Piper.”

Piper smiles and her hands twitch; for a moment, Jemma thinks she is going to touch her arm or her hand, but ultimately Piper just rubs the back of her neck. It’s okay, they will get there.

“I can’t thank you enough, Agent Simmons.”

Jemma nods.

“You don’t have to. The only thing I ask is that you do right by her.”      

**Author's Note:**

> *DADT=Don't ask/Don't tell relationship: A non-monogamous relationship where partners have agreed to have sexual/romantic encounters outside of the two of them but to not know about the other's other(s) partner(s).  
> **  
> I'm accepting prompts both here and/or tumblr (@florchis)!
> 
> This story is part of LLF Comment Project, whose goal is to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites:
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
>   * Prompts
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> 



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